​This often used budgetary rule of thumb states you should try to keep your necessary expenditures to 50% of your total income, your discretionary expenditures to 30%, and the remaining 20% of your income should go towards savings.

While this approach is definitely not a bad starting point for money management, it's far too broad and general, and even terrible advice for many financial situations.
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Let me explain what I mean.

We have been getting quite a few phone calls lately that are clearly scams.

​So I thought this would be a good time to write a blog post and highlight 4 types of phone and internet scams you need to be particularly aware of so that you don't become the victim of a con game that can cost you big bucks.
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Me, doing one of the things I love most - hiking, here in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador.

The Author

Hi, I'm Nancy Maje Gillis, and I hope to help you find ways to live more cheaply and mindfully so that you have less stress and more money to spend where it will make a difference in your life. I know a thing or two about living a full life on a budget because I've been doing it for a long time, first growing up in a family of 11, then as a grad student and young, married, working woman, and more recently while running my busy household and raising my 4 sons through debt-free college degrees and into independent adulthood. All while saving for our own retirement. Here I share ideas for keeping life sane, affordable, and fulfilling.